Anti-Gang Effort Starts in the Home : Community: A volunteer is doing his part to keep teen-age violence out of the Antelope Valley.

Compared with many other Los Angeles County areas, the Antelope Valley has little gang activity and Miguel Rios intends to keep it that way.

Rios, 33, grew up as a gang member in South-Central Los Angeles on West 42nd Street between Vermont Avenue and Menlo Street, one of four children in a family that included three boys and a girl. While high on PCP, or “angel dust,” one brother shot the other brother to death in 1979.

Three years ago, Rios’ remaining brother, a gang member, was kidnaped and killed by members of a rival gang, who dumped him in a trash bin and set it on fire, burning him alive. Rios is now the only son left in his family. Many of his childhood friends are dead, also the victims of gang violence. In his youth, Rios himself was shot at three times.

Rios was luckier than his brothers and friends. While still in school, he took the advice of a caring principal and abandoned gang life. And today, he spends countless hours when he is not working counseling teen-agers and averting potential gang conflicts in the Antelope Valley, where he now lives.

Three years ago, he formed United Parent Services, a volunteer organization that encourages parents and teachers to become more involved in keeping youths out of gangs.

“It starts in the home and it ends in the home,” Rios said of juvenile crime prevention.

In addition to the Antelope Valley, Rios also has taken his message against gangs to Washington. In October, he was invited by the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprises to speak about the successes and problems facing United Parent Services and the Antelope Valley.

Later last year, Palmdale City Council member Jim Root recommended that Rios be given a commendation by the city. Rios received the reward at a council meeting Dec. 10.

“The guy’s amazing,” said Root, a teacher at Highland High School, where Rios works as a campus security supervisor. “When there’s a hot spot, he goes out there. I’m worried that one day he might get killed.”

“Miguel is absolutely dedicated to his job and what he does with the kids,” said Tom Kelsey, the school’s vice principal. “We are very grateful to have Miguel on our campus.”

One of Rios’ main messages to teen-agers today is to stay in school. But in his youth, like many gang members, Rios didn’t consider school important. He said he wasn’t interested in graduating from high school until his principal at Los Angeles High School made him a promise.

“He said if I graduated, he’d get me a job as a campus supervisor,” Rios said. “He asked me, ‘Why don’t you be a positive leader?’ ”

Rios heeded the principal’s advice, finished school and got the job. That’s when his life turned around, he said.

As for his high school friends, Rios said, “Half the guys are dead and the other half are in prison.”

In his work with United Parent Services, Rios emphasizes family involvement and spends a lot of time with area youths. “I give them respect and love--something no one gave me as a kid,” he said.

A father at 18, Rios has two children from a first marriage and a son and a stepdaughter from his present marriage.

Family involvement is crucial to preventing juveniles from joining gangs, Rios said. For this reason, Rios named his organization United Parent Services.

His program is run entirely out of his own home with his own funds. He has help from 16 board members who attempt to involve teachers and parents in creating positive activities for youths.

Board member Laurie Brown, an art teacher at Highland High School, helped Rios organize a program called Teaching Artistic Goals at the school. The 22 teen-agers in the program meet once a week after school for about an hour and work on various art projects, Brown said.

“We try to get the graffiti artists and teach them to use different materials,” she said. “The graffiti problem has been greatly reduced because of the program.”

She said that Rios was the catalyst for the program. “He built trust. I probably couldn’t have started it as easily.”

Others who have worked with Rios also praise his efforts.

Leon Watkins, founder and director of the Family Helpline in Los Angeles, said that Rios volunteered on the help line almost four years ago, using his bilingual skills to help Spanish-speaking families. The help line started in 1986 as part of the Community Youth Gang Services, but it became autonomous in 1987, Watkins said.

“He’s an inspiration to me. He’s a catalyst for positive change,” Watkins said of Rios.

Many teen-agers also count Rios among their friends and credit him for saving them from a life of crime.

Liana, 14, moved from her mother’s house in Palmdale to Pacoima when she was 11. “I moved with my homeboys,” Liana said. “I used to do robberies, then I got busted.”

Liana said that when she was released from a juvenile detention center in September, she went back to school at Highland, where she met Rios. “He understands where I’m coming from.”

When Liana’s former gang buddies tried to coerce her back into a life of crime, Liana said, “Miguel told me if I started hanging around with them, I’d just go down.” Liana said, “I’m not banging no more.” She and Rios also attend the same church.

Jason, 17, was a graffiti artist when he met Rios, who helped him put his artistic talent to better use. Jason now designs comic strips.

“I had a lot of family problems. He helped me find myself,” said Jason, now a senior at Highland who hopes to attend Antelope Valley College in the fall.

Rios estimates that he has lost $20,000 over 14 years of gang intervention work by taking days off from his two jobs at Highland, where he has been employed for three years as a campus security supervisor, and Ralphs supermarket in Encino, where he works as a cashier.

“A lot of people find happiness in luxuries that don’t last,” Rios said. “I find happiness in turning kids’ lives around-- that lasts.”

Rios organized a community meeting on gang intervention to raise the public’s awareness about the problem of gang violence. The meeting was to take place at Highland High School Theatre on Jan. 12, but it was canceled due to bad weather. Rios hopes to reschedule the meeting soon.